A 22-year-old man is in federal custody after he asked about buying grenades and discussed possibly detonating them in New York City’s Times Square, according to US law enforcement sources.
The man, identified as Ashiqul Alam, who was intercepted by federal and local officials, is a Bangladeshi citizen who is a lawful permanent U.S. resident and was busted after allegedly discussing and boasting about his plans for an attack with an undercover federal investigator.
Alam’s alleged threatening statements were characterized as “aspirational,” and the planning never reached a stage that could endanger the public, law enforcement sources told the Associated Press.
He was arrested on charges of attempting to buy a gun with a defaced serial number, said ABC News.
Alam, who lives in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, was detected both inquiring about obtaining grenades and discussing using them in Times Square.
Members of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force — made up of FBI agents and New York Police Department detectives — began tracking Alam and eventually took him into custody.
He is not believed to be linked to any other people or part of a larger plot.
Alam is represented by Federal Defenders, who offered a bail package of $200,000 and to have their client wear an ankle monitoring device and home confinement. But a federal court judge, Magistrate Cheryl Pollak, ordered Alam to be “permanently detained,” labeling him a “danger” to the community based on his statements in the complaint and his desire to purchase firearms with the serial numbers scratched out. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 21.
His parents were in court, along with a family friend. His mother was quietly crying most of the time, reported CBS2’s Alice Gainer.
Outside of court neither his family nor lawyer would comment.
“What do you think about your son’s charges? What do you have to say about the firearms purchases? The judge called your client a danger to the community – do you believe that?” Gainer asked.
Global News 
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